Car-coupling



J. J. KENNEDY.

cm- COUPLING. No. 342,608. Patented May 25, 1886.

NITED STATES PATENT ries.

JACKSON J. KENNEDY, OF CLEVELAND, TENNESSEE.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 342,608, dated May 25,1886.

Application filed July 25, 1885.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JACKSON J. KENNEDY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cleveland, in the county of Bradley and State of Tennessee,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car Couplings, ofwhich the following is a description.

. This invention relates to car-couplings, and is an improvement on thecoupling for which Psatent No. 262,433 was granted me August 8, l 82. Y

The invention seeks to simplify the construction shown in said patent,and to so arrange and construct the several parts that the coupling maybe made at a small cost, and the operation will be easier and better, aspresently set forth.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of two couplings engaged andconstructed according to myinvention, one end sill being broken away toshow the shaft-connection with the draw-bar. Fig. 2 is a front view ofmy coupling. Fig. 3 is a detail plan viewof the drawbar. Fig. 4. is abottom end view of the shaft. Fig. 5 is a detail plan view of thelatch-plate, the shaft and its pin being represented in dotted lines;and Fig. 6 is a detail view of the key.

The draw-bar A is journaled centrally between the sides of the car, andis provided at its forward end with a goose-neck or hook, A, which isformed similarly to the hook shown in my patent before referred to.Immediately in rear of this hook the draw-bar is bent laterally at a.The object in this bend is to permit the draw-bars to be journaledcentrally between the sides of the car, so that the draft may be true inthe center of the ear, and all side-draft will be avoided. This,obviously, is an important feature. This lateral bending of the draw-bareffects another desirable end, in that by reason of the crank oreccentric arrangement thus given't-he gooseneck such part will restnormally in the proper inclined position for engagement by anapproaching goose-neck.

On the head of the hook A, I form a perforated lug, a, to which may befastened the link from an adjacent car having the common coupling.Nearits rearend the draw-bar is slotted longitudinally at A and on thebar, over such slot, is placed a c0il-spring,13, which is held SerialNo. 172,690. (No model.)

by keys B, passed through the slot A on opposite sides of the spring.These keys are provided near their lower ends with springlatches b,which may be compressed and inserted through the slot of the draw-bar,and when below such bar will rebound and retain the keys in place, andprevent the same from jarring out in operation. To remove the key it isonly necessary to compress the spring latch, when it will seat itself inthe groove and present no obstruction to the withdrawal of the key.Friction-washers B may be interposed between the keys and the ends ofthe spring. This spring eases the draw and push on the draw-bar. Aspring-supported bufferbar, 0, is arranged alongside of the draw-bar inposition to receive the stroke of the approaching bar, and so preventany jamming of said approaching bar, as will be understood.

In order to adjust the draw-bar rotarily to its locked or unlockedposit-ion, I employ a shaft, D, journaled in suitable supports, andwhich has a drum portion, D, the under side of which may be providedwith a pin or stud, d,which engages one or the other of perforations e ein a latch-plate, E. ,A connection, F, extends between the shaft and thedraw-bar. This connection may be a pitman connecting such parts; but itis preferably a chain, as shown, passed around and secured to the shaftand the draw-bar. By this construction the turning of the shaft in onedirection will adjust the goose-neck to its coupled position, and thereverse movement of the shaft will move the goose-neck to its uncoupledposition. The shaft, it will beseen, is movablelongitudinally in itsbearings, so that the stud d may be adjusted into the perforations e ore, to secure the goose-neck in the locked or unlocked position. Toprevent the shaft from being jarred into the perforation e, and sosecure the goose-neck in its coupled position, I provide a spring, F, asshown most clearly in Fig. 5; but such spring may be placedelsewhere-as, for instance, in the framing, as shown at m, Fig. 1, whereit would be better protected-and perform the same office. This springprevents the pin from adjusting into the perforation 6, except by theforcible turning of the shaft, as will be understood. The shaft, it willbe seen, is provided at its upper and lower ends with cranks, so that itmay be operated from the top of the car or from the ground. It will benoticed that the 'springlatches b have their upper bent ends insertedthrough the key and bent to form shoulders b, which prevent the latchesfrom being forced awayfrom the keys under unusual strain.

Having thus described my im'ention, what I claim as new is 1. Thecombination of the draw-bar having a hook at its forward end, andprovided near its rear end with a longitudinal slot, a spring placed onsaid bar over such slot, and keys passed through said slot on oppositesides of the said spring, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with a rotatable drawbar having a hook at itsforward end, a latchplate, and a shaft connected with the drawbar andadapted to engage the latch-plate, of a yielding 'stop,\vhereby thedraw-bar may be held from accidental adjustment into locked position,substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of a rotatable draw-bar, a perforated latch-plate, ashaft journaled and movable longitudinally in suitable supports, andprovided with a projection whereby to engage the latch-plate, a spring,F, arranged to be engaged by said projection, and connections betweenthe shaft and the draw-bar, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination,with a rotatable drawbar, of a perforatedlatch-plate, a shaft journaled and movable longitudinally in suitablesupports, and provided with a pin or stud arranged to engage theperforation in the latchplate, and connections between such shaftand thedraw'bar, substantially as set forth.

5. The car-coupling herein described, consisting of the rotatabledraw-bar having its forward end bent laterally and provided with a hook,the shaft journ-aled alongside of said draw-bar, and having cranks atits opposite ends, the connections between the shaft and the draw-bar,and latch devices whereby the shaft may be locked in place,substantially as set forth.

6. The combination.with the draw-bar having a slot, A", of the springplaced on said bar over such slot, and keys passed through said slot onopposite sides of the spring and provided with springlatchesb,substantially asset forth:

J ACKSON J. KENNEDY.

Witnesses:

' H. S. TIPTON,

A. W. ROGERS.

